


Now You See Me... Now You Don't (Will Byers x Reader)

by Sk3tchb00k



Category: Netflix - Fandom, Stranger Things - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Protect Will Byers, Will Byers Deserves Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-07-08 07:26:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19865755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sk3tchb00k/pseuds/Sk3tchb00k
Summary: This chapter kinda sucked, but I know they’ll get better





	1. Introduction

**Introduction**

**This story takes place after everything that happens in Stranger Things season 1. While the remaining scientists in the lab were negotiating contracts of confidentiality with the parents and kids that were involved in the incident, a child escaped the lab and is now lost in the woods. This is 013. Thirteen is in constant fear of being taken back to lab by the "bad men" and is struggling to survive. On top of it all, Thirteen is dealing with extreme amounts of trauma from her experiences at the lab and the powers she received there.**

**This story will include Stranger Things spoilers (duh)**

**That's where Thirteen's Story begins**


	2. Flashback

**Thirteen** **POV**

I sat on the floor of "my room" and stared at the door. Papa hadn't come into my room today, which made me worried, but also... I didn't know the word. It felt like I wasn't scared for once... but I knew he would be here soon. I looked up at the ceiling, the lights were less... bright today and the room didn't make me shiver. I sat in silence and stared at the door again.

I didn't know how much time passed, but Papa opened the door and stared down at me coldly. Then another expression came onto his face and his lips turned up. He always looked at me with this expression, but this time it didn't look good. "Up," he said, his expression growing colder. I stood shakily and looked into his eyes. I had learned three things from being with Papa:

_Always make eye contact with him, even when he isn't speaking._

He lead me to the room with all the wires that he hooked me up to. I didn't like this room, I didn't like it when Papa made me use my powers, and when I couldn't use them I didn't like how to wires would shock me. "Sit in the chair," Papa said staring down at me. I shook my head, my throat closing up in fear.

_Never disobey him._

He lost his expression and pushed me into the chair. Two other men walked in and hooked me up with wires. Papa left the room, but then looked at me through the glass in the other room. He spoke through a contraption that made his voice loud. "Use your powers... you know what to do, and what happens if you don't."

_Finally, never fail him._

I stared at the small piece of colored metal the man placed in front of me. I concentrated on it, trying to summon the force in my mind. I felt Papa's stare on me as I began to sweat. As hard as I tried the small... can... stayed the same. I looked up at Papa, blood falling from my nose. He looked at me with the look that made my stomach feel like it had dropped. "You... disappoint me, Thirteen. Maybe tomorrow you'll do better," Papa said his voice scaring me.

Next thing I knew it was tomorrow, but... Papa never showed up.

**A month later**

I was alone for so long... I was afraid Papa had left me to die. No one checked on me anymore. I wondered if anyone was even here. I had a thought... I knew it would be disobeying Papa, but I had to know if anyone was still here. I pushed on the door to the room, and I was... surprised to know it was unlocked. I looked out into the hallways, but no one was there. It was empty.

I ran to the big doors Papa told me to stay away from, there were buttons inside the room, also the floor was covered in blood. My stomach felt weird as I pressed the button that looked like it went up. The doors closed and I felt trapped. What was I stuck inside? A moment later the doors opened, and I saw so many things that I didn't understand.

The air was sweet, there was a bright light that hurt my eyes. Yet there didn't seem to be a source to it. I looked around and began to shiver, there was a white substance on the ground that made me even colder. I looked around until I made eye contact with a man who was walking towards the building. I began to feel fear again and ran towards the large shadowy area that was filled with... trees. I was scared so I kept running away from the man. I shivered more, only wearing a thin... I didn't know what to call it. Papa told me everyone wore it... I think he called it a hospital gown? As I was running I saw a man with thick... clothes? I ran towards him but I felt something change... I could no longer see myself, but I didn't think much of it. I took the large thing he had wrapped around his body and put it on. He looked scared and yelled, "who's there?" I didn't understand, but then he was flung into the air and slammed against a tree. I stared towards where he used to stand and saw... a girl?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter kinda sucked, but I know they’ll get better


	3. What is... a name?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so y'all know updates will happen randomly  
> I kinda just made this book for myself and I don't expect anything so yea  
> If you enjoy it then uh that's totally tubular

**Thirteen's POV**

I woke up before sunrise. The... night visions had not gotten better after 322 days. 10 months... 17 days. I kept count, I didn't know what I was counting until, but it was how long I'd been wandering the woods. I had come across buildings with lots of people, but I was afraid of them. What if they were like Papa? The day was just beginning, yet I knew it would be... empty like everyday before it. I still had a very small idea of what abilities Papa had seen in me. I kept thinking of that girl in the woods... the one who stole the man's hat. I wondered if she knew anything about Papa... since her abilities were... strong.

I got up from the tree I was laying under, I continued my search for... something. I didn't know the word, but it was the feeling of not being afraid or in danger. Getting up, I walked along the weird metal things that were on the ground. They had wood on either end of the... bars. I didn't know what to call them, Papa didn't teach me many words... I only knew a small amount. I wandered until I reached the building with many people. The sun was going down, but it was still light out. I saw a girl... her hair was bright orange and she wore a green... coat. She had a weird platform with wheels on it, she was trying to spin it? I didn't understand, but I kept watching her. She noticed my stare and met my eyes. I panicked and stepped back, but now she was walking forward.

"Hey! Who are you?" She yelled to me as she ran forward. I felt scared... what if she was like the men... the bad men. Would she hurt me? Suddenly she walked right past me.

"Where did she go?" She asked, but she was looking right at me. I was confused, could she not see me? I looked down at myself, but... I didn't see anything. Suddenly my body appeared again. Was it just another... vision? The girl turned back toward me, "I swear you were not there a second ago."

I didn't move, how could I react to that? Do I nod? I stood there in complete silence, she looked at me weirdly, "hello? Do you talk?"

I nodded. She smirked, "what a very convincing response." She laughed, but noticed my confused look. She just shook her head, "I mean you didn't speak when I asked if you could so it's ironic."

"Ironic..?" My voice trailed off, what was "ironic"?

The girl rolled her eyes, "you know, I was being sarcastic."

"Sarcastic..." I was so confused, I'd never heard these words.

"You don't have a clue, do you?" The girl let out a heavy breath. I tilted my head, she seemed disappointed, which I didn't understand. Finally she looked back at me again, "anyways, what's your name?"

"What is... name?" I asked, my voice shaking. Now she looked really confused, "a name? It's what people call you. I'm Max." I nodded then rolled the coat sleeve up to show my left wrist. _013_ was on my skin, and Papa always called me Thirteen.

"Whoa you have a tattoo?! How old are you?" The girl... Max, looked at me with a look I didn't understand. She looked... excited? "I-I don't know," I said.

"So you don't have a name and you don't know how old you are?" I nodded at her, but I showed her the number again, "name," I said looking at the... "tattoo" she called it. "Your name is Thirteen?" She looked like she didn't believe me. I nodded again, she looked confused again. Then she looked at the sky then back at me, "listen it's getting dark out, and it looks like you don't have a home, so you're gonna stay with me tonight." I tilted my head again, stay with her? Like she would put me in a room? She grabbed my hand and dragged me to the building. Before we got to the door she put the weird platform wheeled thing against the wall. She caught me staring at it, "it's my skateboard, it's cool right?" She had the same expression Papa used to, her lips turned upwards, but hers wasn't cold. I felt... better when she made the expression. "Cool?" I asked, not understanding another word she used. She shook her head, "okay listen I'm going to tell my mom and stepdad that you're a friend from school staying the night. Don't talk at all, if they ask if your parents know, just nod. Okay?" I didn't understand half the words she said, but she sounded serious like she was ordering me, and I didn't want to disobey or disappoint her. I nodded, "okay."

She opened the door and I was met with a strong warmth. I saw two people in another room that both turned towards us when we entered. Max nodded to me, "this is... Kelly (if your name is Kelly just change it). We met at school and she wanted to have a sleepover," Max sounded very truthful, when I knew it was a lie. The man nodded, "should be just fine." The woman made the expression with her lips upturned and said, "has she eaten?" Max nodded, "yea she has." I nodded too, copying the expression the woman gave me. "Okay, have fun! Don't stay up past eleven!" The woman said as Max dragged me upstairs to her room.


	4. Smiling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna make a Stranger Things imagines book soon so look for that if ya want  
> Also I suck at title names and this is kinda a filler chapter.

**Thirteen's POV**

Max shut the door to her room and sat down on her bed. There was so much color in her room, my old room was just grey cement. She had a lot of things in her room. I kept looking at everything, more than half of the things I'd never seen before.

"So," Max said, looking me in the eyes, "where are you from?" I tilted my head in confusion. "You know, where were you before the woods?"

"I, uh... big cement building. A l-lab... with bad men," I said, shaking the memories from my mind. "Lab? There's a lab around here?" Max asked, leaning forward her face lit up with... curiosity? I think that was the word. I nodded at her question. "That's so cool! So you're like a lab experiment that escaped!" I didn't like the way she said that, it sounded good, but her words were... not good. Her expression changed and looked sadder, "sorry, I didn't mean to make it like that." I was confused, "sorry?" I had never heard that word before. Max shook her head, "it means I feel bad for saying that, it's like when you say something rude or hurtful and you don't mean it, it's a way of showing you feel bad." I nodded, understanding what she meant. Max looked at me for a minute then clapped her hands together, "I'm going to teach you how to live... normally." I made the expression with my lips upturned. "First things first, your outfit. What do you have under that coat?" She asked as she got up to open... a drawer. "A... gown," I said, remembering what Papa had called it. "Like a hospital gown?" I nodded uneasily.

She pulled out a colored... shirt with a blue thing around the neck. It was white behind all the colors that were striped. She gave me a pair of... pants that were blue and a roughish material. I stared at the clothes completely confused. What was I supposed to do with these? I looked at Max for guidance and she made that expression... I had to know what it was called. "Max... what's that expression called?" I felt my face get hot, I felt weird asking it, but I was... curious. "It's called smiling, you smile when you're happy." I nodded and... smiled at her. Then I looked back at the clothes and back at her in wonder. "Here, I'll help you," Max said, taking the clothes from me. "I'll turn around so you don't feel so weird," she said after explaining to me what to do with the clothes.

I had the clothes on and tapped her shoulder, she turned then looked me over, "damn that looks good on you." I smiled, not knowing what to say. "Oh right, if someone says something you find nice you say thank you, it means you are uh, happy they said that and are letting them know you liked it." I nodded, I was happy she was teaching me all this. We stayed up really late until we both fell asleep after she finished teaching me what to do at school... which she was taking me to tomorrow.


	5. Madmax and the Stalkers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funny story this chapter was gonna go up yesterday... but I wrote that filler chapter instead. So uh yeah, sorry I don't wanna make notes for every chapter but idk, mk im gonna shut up.

**Thirteen's POV**

I woke up to Max shaking me awake. I jolted up in confusion, wondering why she was shaking me. "Huh?" I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "We have to hurry or my brother won't drive us to school. You can just wear those clothes and..." she paused to throw a yellow hooded-jacket at me, "this jacket, cause it's cold out." I nodded and put it on over my shirt. She got dressed while I was turned around, I was nervous for school. Max said there were a lot of kids there so it would mean I would stand out as the new kid. I didn't tell Max that I couldn't control these "powers" Papa had given me. She was curious to what they were, but I told her it was sensitive and I didn't want to keep talking about it. She was very understanding which made me really happy. We had spent most of the night talking about what words meant. My favorite words were smile, amazing, and zoomer. Zoomer was what Max called herself because she was good with a skateboard. She pulled me out of her room and we went downstairs. She threw me a frozen waffle and said, "toaster is broken and my parents have work so uh, that's all we got for food." I smiled and ate it, and it wasn't the worst thing I'd eaten.

Max's older brother, Billy, was glaring at us as we ran to his car. I got in the backseat and stared at what Max had called a "seatbelt". I barely had time to put it on before the car was racing down the road. It was so fast I felt sick. Soon the ride was over and I quickly got out with Max. Billy sped off towards the high school, I looked to Max.   
"Yeah, he drives like a reckless asshole. Usually he drives to the high school, but seeing as you were here and I didn't bring my skateboard, he dropped us off here," she said, rolling her eyes at the thought of her brother. We started walking towards the school, she led the way and I made sure to follow close to her as now I saw many kids our age walking in the building. "I'm going to take you to the office. The lady there will give you a schedule, just say your name is uh, Kelly Mayfield. Tell them I'm your sister," Max instructed me as we walked inside. I nodded and she grabbed my arm and pulled me into a room that had the words "Front Office" on the door.

Max smiled at the lady, "hi I'm Max, from yesterday. My sister was sick yesterday, but she is here today. I don't know if my parents informed you of that." Max lied really well. I smiled at the lady, she smiled at me and looked at book full of names and numbers. "What is that?" I whispered to Max. "It's a book full of names of kids who go here, it's called a record book," she explained quietly as the lady searched for my name. Of course, she didn't find it. "Well I don't know honey, your parents probably forgot to enroll you," the lady said, double checking the page she was looking at. I nodded, "I forgot to remind them to..." I made my voice sound sorry and slightly upset. The lady smiled at me and gave me a paper, "you have the same classes as Max today. Have a good day girls!" I smiled at her and took the paper that Max had called a class schedule. "Thanks!" Max said, dragging me out of the room. I walked with her to her first class, science. She stopped me right outside the doors, "just give the teacher the paper with your name, he's gonna give you an introduction and a seat. Also this class has some stalkers, they will _definitely_ stare at you the whole class period." I nodded, then asked, "stalkers?" "It means people who follow you and creepily stare at you a lot. They're weird," she said, making an _ick_ face and rolling her eyes.

We walked into the classroom and the teacher that Max said was Mr. Clarke looked at me. "Well class this is an astonishing surprise! We have a new student! This is," he took the paper with my classes that had my name on it, "Kelly Mayfield!" I heard a group of boys whispering loudly, "Max has a sister?" "Yeah apparently, shut up Dustin!" Then a small boy with a bowl cut-as Max had called it-looked at them all and said, "you guys know she can definitely hear us?" They all turned and looked at me with wide eyes, I couldn't help but laugh and went to the seat Mr. Clarke pointed to, it was right in front of Max. I turned to look at her and we both started giggling. The entire time I was in class I had barely any idea of what Mr. Clarke was saying. I guessed science wasn't high up on Max's things to teach me. When the bell rang I followed Max out of the classroom, the boys were the last to leave, and I felt their stares on me as I walked out of the class.

For fun, before I left I turned to look at them, all of them looked away from me, except the boy with the bowl cut. He smiled at me when we made eye contact, and for some reason... I smiled back.


	6. The Vanishing of Kelly Mayfield

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize that if this is Max's second day then uh that means it's Halloween but for my plotline tomorrow is Halloween sooo yea :)

**Thirteen's POV**

Now it was lunch time, Max and I sat at a table that was not too far away from the group of boys' table. I noticed that they kept sneaking glances at us. The boy with the hat kept staring at Max, so did the boy with the dark skin. The boy with the bowl cut kept glancing at me then back at his food. The other boy looked completely disinterested in both of us and stared off into space. "Who are they?" I asked Max, motioning my plastic fork towards them. "The one with the hat is Dustin, he's a huge stalker, along with his friend Lucas," she gestured to the boys who were both staring at her. "The one with the bowl cut is Will, people keep calling him Zombie Boy for some reason." I frowned, that wasn't a nice thing to call someone. "The boy who's a total asshole and is staring off into space is Mike." I nodded and kept eating this shitty school lunch. We got up and went to our last class of the day.

While we were walking to class Will stopped me. "Hey, I'm Will Byers," he smiled the brightest smile. "Kelly Mayfield," I said hesitantly, he nodded. "We have a few classes together," he said, walking with me to our last class. I smiled at him as we went inside. I told my name to the teacher then went to my seat. Will was right next to me and he kept talking to me when the teacher wasn't looking.

"You're from California right?" He whispered, I nodded because that's where Max said she was from. "That's so cool, I've lived in Hawkins my whole life." "I uh, didn't travel much in California, we just moved you know?" I smiled uncomfortably. I wasn't like Max, lying was harder for me. Will noticed I looked a little weirded out and stopped talking to me for a bit.

We had to write a paragraph about what we loved about Halloween. I barely knew what Halloween was, Max told me it was a day to dress scary and get sugary treats called candy. It sounded interesting, but how could I write a whole paragraph about this? I looked over at Will, he was writing intensely, like he had already planned every word. I stared at the paper some more, I rolled up both my sleeves a little bit and started writing. Papa had taught me how to write some words when I was with him, so I knew a few things to write.

_Halloween is lots of fun because I can go and get candy with my friends and Max. Max always dresses up in a scary costume._

That was all I could come up with, I wasn't good at this... I turned back to Will who was staring at me with the strangest expression. I followed his gaze... He was looking at my left wrist. When I rolled up my sleeve, my number became visible. He saw the 013 that was tattooed on my wrist. I panicked and suddenly... I couldn't see myself. I knew what my power was... invisibility.

I looked around, but my vision flashed. It was no longer the classroom with everyone there. It was dark and cold, there were weird white things in the air. Vines were growing all around the room. Yet, they looked alive and not like plants. I shuddered, Papa had spoken of a place like this, but... it was much more horrible. I heard lots of noises and the room lit up a bright color of red. I turned back and saw no one... except Will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OwO cliffhanger


	7. Runaway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what to call this chapter so yeah

**Thirteen's POV**

Everything went back to normal and both Will and I were staring at each other. I looked away, but noticed everyone was staring at me. I was confused, I looked to Max who mouthed the words, "you turned invisible in front of the whole class." I began to panic, I wanted to disappear again, but then I might go back to the cold place. I felt my chest tighten and my throat close up. I had to get out, now. I shot up, but everyone was freaking out again. I'd turned invisible again... I ran out the door as fast as possible. I pushed open the entrance doors and ran out into the parking lot. The woods were close by, I was gonna run back there. I felt bad considering I had Max's jacket and her clothes, but she probably thought I was a freak now.

I kept running out of the parking lot, I ran into the road. I realized I was visible again, I turned and saw a red car coming towards me. I panicked and stayed frozen in the road. As the car came closer I felt my heart leap into my throat and I knew I was going to die. The car braked harshly and swerved to avoid me.

I felt dizzy and sick, I was lightheaded. I knew that I could've died right then and there if the driver hadn't seen me. I started shaking as the reality of the situation sunk in.

The driver exited his car. He had brown hair that fell perfectly around his face. He would make the ladies "swoon" as Max had said while she was talking about Ralph Macchio. **(A/n: Karate kid came out in June of 1984 and season 2 takes place in October 1984 so don't try me.)** He wore a gray jacket over a plain black shirt. He approached me and immediately I knew he wouldn't hurt me. **(Steve Harrington has entered the chat** **)**

"Hey kid! What were you doing in the road? You're lucky I saw you in time," his voice was raised and I backed away in fear. Maybe he _would_ hurt me. "Hey wait," he reached his arm out and held my shoulder, it wasn't a strong grip, it was just to keep me in place. "Hey I'm not going to hurt you, okay?" I nodded, "okay." He looked over at the school behind me, "wait why aren't you in class?" I shook my head, "bad things..." I didn't want to tell him, he would think I'm weird. He nodded, "do you want me to take you home?" I shook my head, "don't have home." "You don't have a home?" He asked, confused by my statement. I nodded, knowing if I spoke I might start to cry. "Hey, don't worry about it. Should I take you to my home? Would that be okay?" He looked worried... he seemed real and trustworthy. I nodded, "okay." I got into the front seat of his car. He smiled, "I'm Steve." I didn't know what to tell him... should I lie and say my name is Kelly? I didn't want him to not trust me... but then again I didn't want to scare him away. After I had been silent, I finally spoke, "I'm... Thirteen." He glanced at me weirdly, "your name is Thirteen?" I nodded, staring at the road. "We can talk about it when we get to my house if you want to," he said, smiling and making eye contact with me. He was like Max... understanding. Papa had never been understanding of me. I nodded and smiled back at him. The rest of the drive was silent.

We arrived at his house and he led me inside, "my parents are almost never home so you don't have to worry about them." I nodded and let him show me around.

He took me to another bedroom and smiled, "this is the guest room where you can sleep." I smiled and sat on the bed, it was soft and felt nice under my hands. The top blanket was white and the pillows were dark blue. I smiled at Steve again, he was really nice. "So do you want to explain why your name is Thirteen? It's okay if you don't, I don't want to pressure you into anything," he quickly recovered his statement and tried not to ramble. I nodded, "I want to... tell you." He put his hand on my shoulder, "you can stop whenever you want to." I was glad he was being so comforting and understanding. I began to speak.

"I'm not... from Hawkins exactly. I was in a... lab with bad men. Papa... he told me I had powers, and he would be disappointed if I didn't use them. I didn't know how to use them, but almost everyday he would hook me up with wires... and if I failed him it would hurt, it shocked me. Yet... I didn't want to make him upset even though he hurt me." I realized how pathetic I sounded, but Steve looked concerned.

"Were you at the lab your whole life?" He asked, his hand squeezing mine to reassure me. "I escaped a while ago... Max found me, she... took me to her house. She lied and said I was her sister at school," I explained, my voice shaking slightly. "Wait? Max? Max Mayfield?" He asked, his eyebrows raised. I nodded, "you... know her?" He shook his head, "I know her brother, he's an asshole," he said, shaking his head in annoyance. I understood his reaction, Billy did seem like an "asshole" as Steve had said. "So you came from Hawkins lab? Do you know 11?" He asked me. I looked into his eyes, "11 was here?" He nodded, "I guess I have to fill you in on what the lab did in Hawkins."


	8. Halloween in Hawkins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry there's going to be a lot more stuff with Will in this chapter and later chapters. I have a plan for this book.

**Thirteen's POV**

It was morning now. Steve had told me all that had happened in Hawkins with Will and El. It was a lot to take in, it explained why Papa and everyone else in the lab had suddenly disappeared. After Steve had finished the story I must've fallen asleep, because now it was morning and I had to go to school.

I walked out of the room and Steve was making breakfast. I was hungry and whatever he was making smelled really good. He turned and saw me enter the room, "good morning." I tilted my head in confusion. He smiled, "it's like a greeting to say to someone when they wake up or when it's morning in general." I nodded, "good... morning." I sat at the table as he put food on the plates. "So, I'll drive you to school today, then if you want I can drop you off with a few kids I know, so you can go trick-or-treating," Steve explained as he started eating the food. I shook my head, "no school." He laughed, "you're going to school." "Actually no, I'm not," I retorted, eating the food he made. He stopped laughing and gave me a stern look, "you _are_ going to school." I nodded hesitantly, he had started to sound like Papa, but that was probably just because I was disobeying. I pushed the plate away from me, "I'm not hungry..." then my stomach made a noise and Steve shook his head. "Your stomach says otherwise, sit down and eat." I knew that tone, he was ordering me to eat. I finally just started eating.

I sat in Steve's car on the way to school. I was dreading seeing Max. She would have lots of questions and she probably hated me. The tightness in my chest did not go away the entire drive. When Steve pulled in the parking lot I didn't want to leave the car. I looked at him hopelessly, he shook his head, "listen it won't be that bad I promise. Just take a deep breath and pretend like you don't care." "Don't... care?" I asked, wondering what he meant by that. "Yeah, just act like nothing is wrong and nothing bothers you at all. Don't look nervous or scared even if you are," he explained while checking his hair in the mirror. I nodded and left the car.

Walking into the school, I didn't make eye contact with anyone, I just stared in front of me and made an unreadable expression. I noticed Will, Mike, Dustin, and Luxas were dressed strangely. They were in... costumes. No one really paid too much attention to me. I went to the locker Max had shown me to yesterday and put my stuff in it. Suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder, I turned and it was Max.

"You're back... I didn't think you'd come back," she said, her eyes scanning over every detail of me. I nodded, "yeah." I didn't think I should tell her Steve forced me to come to school. She smiled and wrapped her arms around me, I think she had called it a hug. I hugged her back and the tightness in my chest disappeared. "Listen, I uh, if you need a place to stay tonight you can stay with me," she let go of the hug and smiled at me. I shook my head, "I stay with... Steve." She looked shocked, "Steve? As in Steve Harrington? That Steve?" I nodded, "but I can go... trick-or-treating with you." She nodded, "how about Billy takes us home and we can get costumes and then we can go trick-or-treating. Steve can get you after or something," Max offered. I smiled, "that sounds cool." "Awesome," she replied. "Actually it's totally tubular," a voice laughed from behind us. We turned and saw Dustin smiling. "I'm Dustin and this is-" Dustin began to introduce himself but I cut him off, "Lucas. Yeah we know," I looked at Max and we both giggled. Both Dustin and Lucas looked confused. "Yeah, the stalkers," Max smirked at them. "Uh, no... actually," Dustin frowned, trying to redeem himself. "No, we were just concerned you know, since you're new and all," Lucas continued Dustin's sentence and smiled at Max. I looked at the boys then back at Max. 'Uh hello? I'm new too,' I thought, rolling my eyes as the boys continued trying to salvage their conversation with Max. I turned to Max, "I'll see you in class." She nodded and I walked away from them. I ran right into Will when I wasn't paying attention.

"Sorry that was my bad, I wasn't paying attention," I apologized as I helped him up. He smiled, "don't worry about it." I noticed Mike staring at me weirdly, I stared back until he looked away. "Why is Mike looking at me like that?" I asked Will when Mike started staring again. Will turned to glance at Mike, "uh, I told him about what I saw yesterday... the number on your wrist." I felt the heat drain from my face, "oh." "Listen, uh he's my best friend and also he had something happen last year that uh, he needed to know and-" he started rambling trying to explain himself. I interrupted him, "it's about El isn't it." Will's eyes widened, "you knew El?" "A little bit, Steve told me about what happened last year," I mumbled. He nodded then looked back at Mike. He turned to walk away but before he left I grabbed his arm, "Will." "Yeah?" He looked at me with wonder. "About yesterday... why were you in the... cold, bad, dark place too?" I had to know why I had seen him there. He shook his head, "it was just a nightmare." He smiled and walked away... but I knew deep down, he was lying.

**Timeskip**

The last bell rang and I got up from my seat and followed Max out of class. "Wait I gotta tell Steve I'm going to your house," I said as we walked out into the parking lot. "Okay, be quick, Billy hates us being late," Max replied with a slight worried tone. I knew Billy was mean to her, so I ran over to Steve's car. "Hey Steve, uh Max invited me to go over and get costumes and go trick-or-treating. She said you can pick me up or something after so I'm not staying the night," I said everything quickly, but Steve seemed to understand. "That's fine, I'll be at a party so just go back to my house when you're done, I'll be home late." I nodded, "thank you!" Then I ran back to Max, "he said it's all good!" Max and I got in Billy's car and he drove us to their house.

Max dragged me up to her room and started going through her closet. "So I'm going as the scream... you can go as... uh," she kept looking through the closet until she pulled out a random costume that had a pink jacket that said Pink ladies on the back. "It's from the movie Grease... I wore it last year, but that's fine." I smiled and she helped me get changed, we both looked pretty good. I smiled and turned around in the mirror a few times.

We started hitting up a few houses and we already had our baskets half filled with candy. We saw Dustin and his friends and Max had the idea to scare them, "just wait here until you hear them scream." I waited for a minute then heard a bunch of high-pitched screams. I ran out and saw Max doubled over in laughter, "you sound like a little girl." I laughed as Dustin and Lucas turned red in embarrassment. I smiled at Will who was holding a camera. "Do you want to trick-or-treat with us?" Dustin and Lucas asked Max. I rolled my eyes, it was like I was invisible to them. That was... ironic. "No! She can't!" Mike shouted, sounding really annoyed. "Well why not?" Dustin challenged him. "Fine, but Will and I are going to trick-or-treat on our own. Come on Will," Mike walked away. "Can I trick-or-treat with you guys?" I asked Will, Max and the other boys were already gone. Will looked to Mike who shrugged, "you're fine. I just don't like how easily Lucas and Dustin have gone to Max," Mike rolled his eyes. I nodded, "it's not Max's fault, she's actually cool." Mike rolled his eyes again, "come on let's go."


	9. Just Wanted to Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating for a few days, my dad's home so I can't update as much :/

**Will's POV**

Kelly looked at Mike, "I knew El... I'm sorry what happened to her." Mike looked taken aback, he was caught off guard by her. "You knew her?!" Mike asked, staring at her. She nodded, "I didn't know almost anything about her... she protected me from Papa." "Papa? Wait did you escape the lab?" Mike was freaking out about this. Kelly nodded, she showed him her tattoo, 013. Mike gasped, "Will you were right!" I tilted my head, was he doubting me before? I shook my head at his antics. He started leading her to a house and showed her what trick-or-treating was. I was about to follow them when some older kids in scary costumes jumped at me, "trick-or-treat freak!" I jumped back. "What's wrong zombie boy?" I fell back... I got up... but it was the Upside Down.

**Thirteen's POV**

Mike showed me how to knock and told me what to say. I knocked on the door and an old lady answered, "hello dears." "Trick-or-treat!" I smiled at her. Mike and I both got candy in our baskets. Mike smiled, "thanks Mrs. Driscoll." She shut the door and we turned around, "let's get more candy!" Mike nodded, "come on Will!" We turned to look for him, "Will?" I asked. We found him taking short, scared breaths while sitting against a wall. "Will?" I asked. Mike pushed in front of me, "Will, come Will! It's okay." I was scared, Will was shaking and looking at Mike. Will looked at me and Mike turned towards me, "you should leave." I gave Mike a weird look, "but I want to help." He shook his head, "you can't help him! You don't know what's going on." I glared at him, "is it about the upside down? I know a lot about that place! I could help, you just don't want me to!" "You just showed up here! Will is my best friend, you barely know him and you don't know anything at all about what happened last year! So just go away and go be useless somewhere else!" Mike screamed at me, and I took a step back. "Fine, but the minute something gets serious, you better come find me," I said sternly. I turned and stormed off.

I held tightly to my bucket of candy and headed towards Max's house. I ran into Max on the way, "hey you're heading back early." I nodded, "Mike told me to leave him and Will alone. Will wasn't feeling right and I wanted to help him..." I explained to her. She nodded and rolled her eyes, "yeah, Mike is like that. I don't understand why he hates me." "He was kind of okay with me... but suddenly he acts like I'm an idiot." She nodded and we went up to her room. I changed out of the costume and back into my clothes-or well, the clothes Max had given me. She was pulling a few things out of her drawers, she turned and handed some clothes to me in a bag. "You can't just wear one outfit forever, so here's some other clothes for you to wear."

I smiled at her widely, "thank you Max." I gave her a hug and she hugged back tightly. "I'll head back to Steve's now..." I said, pulling myself from her grasp. She nodded, "I'll walk you to the door."

Max walked me to the door and we said our goodbyes. She went back inside and I began walking to Steve's house. It was getting really cold out, I felt jumpy at every single little noise. I know Steve said the lab was gone... but being out in the open would be a great way to be caught. I got more scared the more I walked. A car pulled up beside me and I scrambled away from the car and began to run away, but the window rolled down and a familiar voice called out to me, "hey wait! It's just me." Steve. I sighed in relief and came back to the car. "Come on, get in. I'll take you back home." I nodded and got in the car.

The drive was quiet, Steve looked upset, but not with me. I looked at him with sympathy and finally asked, "what happened..?" He shook his head, "what do you mean?" "You look sad... and you said you'd be at the... party a lot later," I said, gazing at him. "I-uh... well, you know that girl I told you about... Nancy? Yeah she... told got drunk and said everything was bullshit. Our relationship... me... everything. I thought she loved me, but..." he trailed off and his eyes got misty. "Bull...shit? Drunk?" I didn't know what those words were. Steve chuckled softly, "drunk is when you aren't in complete control because your mind is a little weird. It happens when you drink something called alcohol. And uh, bullshit is... well it means it's fake, or doesn't matter, it's just... crap." I nodded, "but her mind wasn't in a good state... she might not have meant it." Steve shook his head, "drunk words are sober thoughts." It got quiet, and I knew just looking at Steve, that this was a wound that would take a while to heal.


	10. D'Artagnan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy almost August... school starts soon so don't expect lots of updates.

**Dustin's POV**

I knew bringing Dart to school was a risky choice, but I had to show him to Mr. Clarke... and to Max. I mean mainly to Mr. Clarke, it wasn't like I was trying to impress Max. Still, I hoped she thought he was cool. Mr. Clarke first, then Max.

**Thirteen's POV**

Steve dropped me off then went to the high school. Max skateboarded towards me and smiled. She walked with me to class.

**Timeskip**

I was in Mr. Clarke's classroom to study for a test coming up soon, his room was quiet and much nicer than the lunch area. I was glad he let me stay in there to study. Suddenly Dustin came in with Lucas, they had a weird trap thing with them. I silently listened to their conversation.

"So I discovered something, but you better not steal credit for my discovery," Dustin began. Lucas rolled his eyes, "just get on with it!" "Okay so-" Mike rushed in with Will. Max was right behind them. "Sorry Mr. Clarke it was just a stupid prank!" He grabbed Dustin's box and started running into the hallway. "Mike-" Dustin looked confused. "We have to go, right now!" Mike yelled. I got up and shoved my stuff in my bag. I smiled at Mr. Clarke and made my way into the hall. I saw the boys arguing with Max. "Party members only," Mike said. Max looked annoyed, "what?!" Lucas glared at Mike, "come on Mike." "I said party members only and since I'm group leader that is final." Max scoffed with annoyance. Will looked over at me, "she can come." I smiled at him then looked apologetically at Max. She just shook her head. Lucas and Dustin glared at Mike and Will. "Why does she get to come? Last time I checked she's not a party member!" Lucas confronted Mike. "Yeah well Max didn't come from the lab," Mike said, rolling his eyes. Dustin and Lucas looked shocked, "she's like El?" I nodded and showed them my number. "Whoa, 013? So you're not Max's actual sister?" Dustin asked, looking me over. I shook my head, "she found me and now I live with Steve." "We have more important matters than that. Dart is a Demogorgan!" Mike said. "A what?" I asked, looking at them with confusion. "A Demogorgan, it's the monster from the upside down," Will explained. His face was paler than usual. "Wait... he's the faceless monster...?" I asked, fear laced in my voice. Papa had made me go to the upside down before... I saw the creature. I shook the memory from my head, "why is he here?!" "I found him in my trash! Before I knew he was from the upside down!" Dustin defended himself. I stared at Dart, he was kind of... cute. Everyone started arguing, I picked up Dart. He sat in the palm of my hand.

I examined him carefully. Suddenly he grew two legs out of his sides. It got goo all over my hands. "GUYS!" I yelled, Dart had grown. They looked over at me, "whoa!" They looked at Dart who turned toward me. His mouth opened and he roared at me. I felt panic and suddenly he disappeared. They all freaked out, "where did he go? What did you do to him?" Dustin yelled. I still felt him in my hand, I realized my nose was bleeding, I looked down at my hands and Dart reappeared. It startled me so much I dropped him. Then Max opened the door, she must've picked the lock. "Wait no!" Dart scrambled out of the room. The boys almost trampled me trying to chase after him. I got up and looked to Max. The boys were freaking out, "we gotta find him," Dustin said. "Yeah, there's a demogorgan loose in the school!" Lucas yelled.

We split up and searched the whole school. Max went with Mike, so I was on my own. I looked around and saw nothing. I began walking towards the gym when I saw a girl. We locked eyes... she was familiar, but I didn't think I'd seen her before. Then I knew, "Eleven?" I asked her. She ran off. That was weird... but, it had to be her. I ran after her, "wait! Eleven it's me! Thirteen!" I ran outside the school, but she was gone. I shook my head, she was here, right?

I walked back into the school with a defeated feeling. She had been so close and I lost her. I ran into Lucas and remembered we were looking for Dart. "Did you find him?" He asked. I shook my head and shrugged. "Okay, but do you know where Will is?" I shook my head again, "wait, what happened to Will?" Lucas shrugged, "we don't know where he went, come on let's look for him!" We ran into Dustin, "did you find Dart?" Lucas asked him. "No," Dustin shook his head, but I could tell he was lying. I just knew he was hiding Dart. I didn't say anything. Dustin and Lucas were talking, I began looking for Will. I left the school and went out to the field. I saw Will standing there, frozen in place. I ran up to him, "Will?" He didn't say anything. "Will, the others are looking for you! Did you find Dart?" I asked him, standing beside him. Yet he was still silent. "Will?" I stood in front of him and reached for his hand. As soon as I touched him I turned invisible, but I was in the dark place again... the upside down. Will stood there, but something was inside him, something dark... like dust and shadows. "Will? Will!" I screamed his name as the shadow continued to... possess him. Then it stopped, and he looked me in the eyes.

"Help me."


End file.
